Grímsnes | 79.9 million Icelandic kroner ($575,000)
A three-bedroom house with a sauna on 1.6-acres outside Reykjavík
This three-bedroom, two-bath, contemporary-style house with a sauna is newly constructed in the municipality of Grímsnes, about an hour east of downtown Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital and largest city.
Grímsnes, which has a few hundred residents, many living in summer cottages, is near a colorful volcanic crater lake called Kerid that is popular with tourists. Selfoss, a town of about 7,000 residents, is 20 minutes away and has a full range of services and amenities. It also offers tourist attractions, including the New Old Town, a development of more than 50 recreated historic buildings from around the country that now serves as the town’s commercial and cultural center.
The South of Iceland is home to many of the country’s natural wonders, including black beaches, glacial rivers, torrential waterfalls, glaciers and geysers. Selfoss and Grímsnes are on Iceland’s Golden Circle tourism route and near the country’s South Coast route. Grímsnes is about 90 minutes east of Keflavík International Airport.
Size: 1,552 square feet
Price per square foot: $370
Indoors: The front door of the single-story house opens to an entrance hall with floor tiles and a wardrobe. To the right is a bedroom. Straight ahead is the open-plan living room, dining area and kitchen with floor-to-ceiling windows and two doors opening to a deck. The house has under-floor heating beneath parquet planks in most spaces. The kitchen has white cabinetry, butcher block countertops and an island with a cooktop and an integrated downdraft vent.
Off the living room are two more bedrooms and two bathrooms. All bedrooms have wardrobes, and the primary bedroom has deck access. The primary bathroom has gray-tiled floors and light marble walls with a walk-in shower and a vanity with a marble countertop. There are laundry facilities in the bathroom. Water is heated geothermally.
Outdoor space: The house, on a rural 1.6-acre lot, has a deck on two sides with a hot tub, a cold plunge pool and a stand-alone sauna with windows looking out to the surrounding countryside and mountains. Zoning allows for construction of another building that could serve as a guesthouse, greenhouse or storage.
Costs: About $2,546 a year in property taxes
Contact: Adalsteinn Bjarnason, TORG Real Estate Agency, [email protected]
Gamli Vesturbær | 78 million Icelandic kroner ($562,000)
A two-bedroom duplex apartment on a courtyard in Reykjavík
This two-bedroom, one-bath duplex apartment is in an turn-of-the-century building in Gamli Vesturbær (or the Old West Town), a popular oceanfront neighborhood in Vesturbær, one of Reykjavík’s oldest districts.
Situated on a quiet residential street called Norðurstígur, the building stands near a quaint courtyard near the old harbor. Vesturbær once was dominated by fishing companies and other industry, but has developed over the past century into a residential area with some commercial activity near the waterfront. Residents of the district include families and university students, many of whom enjoy biking or jogging along the coastline and using the Vesturbæjarlaug thermal pool complex. There are plenty of restaurants, pubs and markets within walking distance, along with schools, shops and other amenities.
The Old West Town is within walking distance of downtown Reykjavík. Keflavík International Airport is just under an hour’s drive away.
Size: 893 square feet
Price per square foot: $629
Indoors: The two-bedroom duplex apartment is on the lower floors of the three-story building, constructed in 1902. The front door opens to the living room, where attractive double doors with frosted glass lead to a second living room. Both light-filled rooms have original wood floorboards and brick accent walls. The apartment has ornate ceiling moldings and rosettes, along with vintage radiators.
The main floor holds the open kitchen and dining room, as well as a bedroom. The kitchen has white-painted cabinetry, a Gorenje oven, a ceramic cooktop installed in 2020 and decorative wood countertops. A door from the kitchen opens to a small shared deck at the rear of the building. The windowed bathroom has antique vinyl flooring and wall paneling.
From the dining area, a spiral staircase descends to a second, smaller bedroom with a distressed wood accent wall and two windows. There is access to a shared laundry and storage area.
Outdoor space: The building stands on a cobblestone courtyard renovated in 2020. A shared rear deck steps into a small backyard. A paved parking space is next to the building.
Costs: About $1,200 a year in property taxes
Contact: Hallgrímur Hólmsteinsson, Trausti Real Estate Agency, +011-354-896-6020
Gamli Vesturbær | 79.9 million Icelandic kroner ($575,000)
A two-bedroom, lower-ground floor apartment with yard in Reykjavík
This two-bedroom, one-bath, garden-level apartment with a private entrance is in a 1924 building in Gamli Vesturbær, the Old West Town of Reykjavík.
The building, on a picturesque street called Unnarstígur, is in a residential area that attracts families and young people with its nearby schools, parks and a hospital. Restaurants, pubs and markets are all nearby. Not far from the Old West Town is the Grandi harbor district, a tourist area with galleries, museums and shops, including a maritime museum and a whale museum. The harbor district also offers views of Esja, the mountain overlooking Reykjavík, and the bay of Faxafloí, where whale and puffin watching are popular activities.
Size: 1,041 square feet
Price per square foot: $553
Indoors: The front door opens to a cheerful yellow entrance hall with a tiled floor, and then to an airy open-plan living and dining area with a kitchen. The apartment, which has been fully renovated in recent years, has pine flooring in most of the rooms. The kitchen has white cabinets and butcher block countertops.
Both bedrooms are spacious with closet space, and the bathroom has stone floor tiles and a jetted bathtub with shower. The laundry and storage rooms have stone tiles with underfloor heating.
Outdoor space: The apartment has a private entrance off a landscaped garden surrounded by a concrete wall. There is a patio at the entrance.
Costs: About $1,360 a year in property taxes
Contact: Hallgrímur Hólmsteinsson, Trausti Real Estate Agency, +011-354-896-6020
The post $570,000 Homes in Iceland appeared first on New York Times.
